The Dolmen rests
The Dolmen
Player: @Dante EU
Origin:	Magic
Archetype:	Controller
Security Level:	22
Personal Data
Real Name:	Ash Longthorn
Known Aliases:	None
Species:	Human
Age:	24
Height:	5’ 11”
Weight:	Average
Eye Color:	Brown
Hair Color:	Brown
Biographical Data
Nationality:	British
Occupation:	Full time hero
Place of Birth:	Hastings, United Kingdom
Base of Operations:	Confidential
Marital Status:	Single
Known Relatives:	Grace Longthorn (Mother)
Known Powers
Control over plants, trees and weather
Known Abilities
Can communicate with most living beings with varying degrees of difficulty. Can skinshift to imitate creatures of the land and sky.
Equipment
Limited shamanic equipment, battle axe and wands
No additional information available.

The Knights of Albion

The Dolmen

Affiliations

• Member of The Knights of Albion

Personality

Quiet, peaceful and calm, The Dolmen seems to carry a weight to him that is incongruous with his years. Although he is in his mid twenties, Ash seems to have already seen and experienced a lot and seems aged beyond his years. Whether it is the legacy that he carries or the result of many years in mental training and meditation it is not clear, but his sometimes serious tone can lead others to miss his lighter side.

The truth is, Ash is someone who has learned how to be content with what he has. Although he feels the legacy of The Dolmen on his shoulders, he does not consider it a burden. He may not laugh much but his joy comes from interacting with the environment and shifting his form so that he can run with the wildlife. Because he is often met in battle, his demeanour is focused, his senses keen. Encountered out of combat and preferably away from large crowds, he can be talkative and even entertaining if given the opportunity.

The main block to him opening up tends to be distraction. With his ability to communicate with all kinds of life forms, he finds humans much more difficult to work with, their outwards words not always matching their intentions. Whereas he will immediately talk to a pet cat or dog or even passing bee, he is slow to open up to people. But like a pack animal, once he knows he can trust someone, he will be intensely loyal.

Motivation

Ash is the current holder of the Geas of the Forestborn, a blessing given to those who protect a sacred grove of trees located somewhere in England. This blessing bestows great powers over nature on its bearer as long as they stay true to their promise to protect nature and all her works. As such, The Dolmen’s true loyalty is not to team or leader or any form of politics but to nature itself. It is this devotion that keeps The Dolmen in the fight, whether to protect humanity or the planet.

Powers

Attributes
	Statistic	1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
	Fortitude
	Stamina
	Speed
	Melee
	Blasts
	Support
	Control

Abilities

Foremost of The Dolmen’s formidable powers is his ability to manipulate plants, trees and the weather to his will. Although it appears a rapid ‘forcing’ of matter to bend to him, it is done as more of a request, the minds of Dolmen and land touching briefly. He can rapidly accelerate the growth of plant matter as well as turning wind and rain onto his foes. It is this ability that makes The Dolmen a master of the battlefield, able to turn the simplest of terrain into a treacherous, howling bog filled with lethal spines and brambles.

Connected to nature as he is, The Dolmen can also communicate with various forms of life on the planet be they plant or animal. Although he does not discuss how he does this, it is suspected to be some form of telepathic link that he can maintain with enough concentration. He has stated that some animals are easy whereas other animals require more effort. Hive minds such as bees and ants in particular can be almost painful to try to connect with.

Further to this mind linking ability, The Dolmen can go one stage further and physically change into the shape of an animal if he knows the beast well enough. This ability is constrained by location and following his recent move, he has been restricted to shifting into the shape of his totem, a fox. As he gets more comfortable with the land and spends more time with its wildlife, he will be able to expand his skinshifting abilities. Although his communication is restricted to the form, his human mind remains active and conscious throughout the shift.

Vulnerabilities

The Dolmen is only human and anyone who can get past his numerous defences can do him serious damage. Although he has been offered armour in the past, he is not keen on wearing anything past natural defences such as leather and cloth. It is suspected that heavier defences would interfere with his shapeshifting abilities.

Being quiet and reclusive can mean that not everyone warms to Ash at first. He can be seen as standoffish and somewhat unconcerned with matters at hand. His concern for the environment can often overrule his duty to humanity and make him seem almost unconcerned with peoples’ plight. This, however, is rarely the case.

One further weakness is that given his mental connection to most living things, he can sometimes display pain at seeing nature destroyed or corrupted. Should an animal he is linked with suffer an injury, it could be crippling for him too.

Equipment

A Lodestone Brooch: This jewellery device is magical in nature and allows communication between members of Knights of Albion as well as entrance to the "Ley Tunnels" which connect the physical world with their extra-dimensional base in The Lady's Castle.

The Dolmen is typically light on equipment but he has been seen to carry a number of wands of various wood and a small battle axe which may have had ceremonial use. Other than that, he goes into battle with just standard issue hero equipment.

Character History

In 1922, Ash’s great grandfather, still wounded from the First World War, prevented the destruction of several acres of woodland by purchasing it wholesale. Although unsure as to why he did such a thing, when he ventured into the woods, he was met by a number of spirits, all of whom knew what he had done for them. Grateful for this, they offered him the chance of an extended life and great power, in exchange for guardianship of their land.

Not expected to live, he agreed and became the first Dolmen, guardian of the tomb, protector of nature. This gift passed down through three generations, always transferring to the first born boy in the family. Some refused the gift but later changed their mind. A concise history is included below.

When Ash Longthorn came of age, the blessing came to him and at first, he denied it, following the death of his father during the Rikti War. Taking some time after college studies to go travelling, he spent a long time on retreats into nature, withdrawing further and further from humanity. For seven months, he disappeared without a trace and to this day, no-one knows what happened to him. When he returned, he had accepted the Geas of The Forestborn and became the forth Dolmen, demonstrating powers that took his predecessors years to master. For some who knew his predecessors, they suspect he may be the most powerful incarnation of the hero.

After three years of working with The Knights of Albion, he was ordered to move to Paragon to be at the ‘centre of the storm’. Although moving from his sacred landscape was difficult, he went with the blessing of the Forestborn and for the good of the land.

History of The Dolmen

2011 - Ash Longthorn (24) is requested to relocate to Paragon City.

2008 - Ash Longthorn (21), the 4th Dolmen joins The Knights of Albion.

2006 - Ash (19) travels, seeking his spirituality. Upon returning home, he returns to the woods bought by his great grandfather and camps near the massive standing stone erected there. Once again, he is visited by the Forestborn. This time he accepts his role and becomes the 4th Dolmen.

2005 - When Ash (18) reaches his 18th birthday, he is visited by the Forestborn, asking him to take up the mantle of The Dolmen. He initially refuses, not wanting to suffer his father’s fate.

2004 - When the Rikti invade, David (56) comes out of retirement to fight them. He does not last long before falling in battle. With no apparent heir of adult age, it is suspected that The Dolmen died that day.

2000 - David Longthorn (52) officially retires as The Dolmen. Although he retains his powers, the figure disappears from the public eye.

1987 - Ash Longthorn is born to David Longthorn (38).

1979 - Howard Longthorn dies (56). David (30) inherits his powers although at first rejects them. When a terrorist attack provokes his inherently heroic nature, he becomes the 3rd Dolmen.

1949 - David Longthorn is born to Howard Longthorn (26).

1942 - Douglas Longthorn dies (45). Howard (19) immediately inherits the Geas of the Forestborn and becomes the 2nd Dolmen. Despite his young age, he fights alongside The Dawn Patrol and other metahumans to protect Britain from the Nazi invasion forces.

1923 - Howard Longthorn born to Douglas Longthorn (26).

1920 - Douglas Longthorn (23) buys 200 acres of land to protect it from developers. In gratitude for saving their homeland, he is offered the chance to live by the spirits of the land. In agreeing, he becomes the first Dolmen, able to control living plants and the weather, appointed to protect Albion and its Isles.

1917 - Douglas Longthorn (20) is wounded on the battlefields of World War 1 and sent home, not expected to live.

1897 - Douglas Longthorn born.

Trivia

A Dolmen is a ‘table’ like tomb made of normally three or more megaliths and were a staple of stone age tomb building. Often the tombs were more complex but time has eroded them so that there are frequently no more than a few stones standing. The name here refers to how his powers were gained and the true nature of just what exactly he is defending.